I had just finished my first call of the day when I got a citris server error.  A typical result when pulling up info on the network, a big 'oh shit' when culled from my main program. 20 seconds later, it all came down. And when I say all, I mean ALL: Accounting program. Device tools. Network systems. Finally, what we all were dreaming for: the queue.

I searched the drawers and came up with the daily newspaper, an old OK! magazine, and another glossy with a killer suduko puzzle. The girls next to me pulled out a deck of cards and they played endless hands of rummy while listening to their Nokia Music Phone. I got an extra half-hour at lunch (unpaid for, of course, but definitely wanted), and it was still down.  Finally, 5.5 hrs into my shift it all came back online. By then, they had already given Mandatory Time Off to half the site, and since I was one of the folks with the latest ending shifts, we we kept busy until it was time to go home.

And oh! the ride home was something else. Lightning, high humidity, and a slow bike ride while listening to Otis Redding on my ipod. By the time I got home, the first thing I did was step into the shower. By the time I got out and opened the bathroom door, I couldn't even tell that I had just had one. Instant heat, like the scorcher it is today.

The plan for my last day of nights: a crisp, cold beer and a taxi home. More showers, more high temperatures, and more heat lightning are a recipe for going out with a bang this last nightshift. I'm calling a cab at the end of it all.